[Chapter Size: 4000 Words.]
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Third Person POV
Pemford, 300 AC.
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At the same time, farther south in the Riverlands, farther east near the Crownlands, a wagon was being driven by two men controlling and urging on two horses, accompanied by four mounted men serving as its escort.
Inside the wagon was an elderly man who, to anyone who recognized him, represented a very serious problem. A cloth was covering his eyes due to an injury he had suffered weeks earlier.
Their destination had not yet been decided—either the siege of Riverrun or King's Landing. They had no other option besides those two...
As they traveled through the eastern Riverlands, they were suddenly stopped. The first arrow flew from the forest, striking the rider at the front, while the rest immediately prepared themselves, drawing their weapons.
"Enemy attack!" one of them shouted.
"Hey, don't even try anything."
A group of men emerged from the forest, facing the small party with smiles on their faces.
Everyone turned pale at that moment. One of them was dying with an arrow lodged in his neck while his horse fled... Now there were only three riders left, two men on the wagon, and one sick old man inside it. They were surrounded by more than twenty men.
"Look what we have here. Freys. And to think you'd be wandering around these parts... Get off your horses and drop your weapons, otherwise the arrows will hit every last one of you before you can take a single step..." one of the men said, laughing. He wore an eyepatch.
"W-Who are you?" one of the Freys murmured...
At such a disadvantage, how could they possibly fight that group?
The idea had been to reach the Lannisters and the Freys, but that now seemed unrealistic. They had been surrounded...
"Wait, Thoros... I know him," one of the men said, looking at the young man who was agonizing after being struck by the arrow. "He's Walder Frey's great-grandson. I once saw him serving as a cupbearer to that she-devil at a feast!"
"What? We killed someone important?" The men exchanged surprised glances.
The other three simply dismounted without saying much. In truth, they had seen far too much death to be shocked by the death of a blood relative, even if it was a brother, cousin, or nephew. After what had happened at the Twins, nothing really seemed capable of surprising them anymore.
"Well, why would someone of Lord Frey's blood be traveling with only three knights?"
"I know this one too." One of the soldiers with his arrow drawn pointed at a man behind the wagon after dismounting. "He's Hosteen Frey's son."
Before anyone could respond, one of the men pointed at another.
"That one is Aenys Frey's son."
"So many Freys...? Where's the escort for these men?" Thoros of Myr, who was leading the ambush, couldn't help but laugh before turning a thoughtful gaze toward the group.
Meanwhile, the Freys were terrified, convinced they were about to die.
"Damn it... When we attacked and saw the Frey banner, we thought they were just guards."
"What's going on? Why am I seeing so many Freys around here?" Thoros stepped forward, observing the five remaining men.
"I asked a question, boys. You'd better answer it. Otherwise, you'll share the same fate as the other one."
Then his gaze shifted to the wagon.
"And who is the old man in there?"
Thoros stepped closer. No one dared make a move to stop him. Several archers were already prepared to cut them down that very instant.
Since no one answered, he simply climbed aboard before kicking the blind man and seeing his face.
"Let's see what kind of old man these three are carrying... WHAT?!"
He barely finished the sentence before exclaiming in surprise, causing all his men to raise their eyebrows at his reaction.
Thoros blinked several times before staring at the old man sitting there. Even with his injured eyes covered, it was still possible to tell who he was...
"That can't be possible..."
He placed a foot on the fallen man, but all the old man did was tremble. He didn't react or speak.
"He's more than blind..." Thoros observed him for a moment.
Thoros looked at the Freys, who averted their eyes as if they didn't want to answer his unspoken questions...
"Who is this old man, Thoros?" one of his companions asked, keeping his bow aimed at the Freys, already growing impatient with all the mystery.
Thoros merely sighed.
"He may be bandaged up, but I'd recognize that ugly face anywhere. It's old Walder. Lord Frey himself. Yet he doesn't even care that I'm stepping on him as if he were horse shit... Why isn't he answering me? What happened to him? It's obvious he's broken..."
Thoros immediately ignored the astonishment of his companions and turned his attention back to the other Freys.
The men exchanged glances for a moment until one of them finally answered:
"He was forced to watch the Twins be destroyed. His eyes couldn't withstand the light from the explosion, and he lost his sight. After that, he completely lost his mind..."
Thoros stared at him, as did everyone else.
Thinking they had heard wrong.
"And as for our guard... there is no one with us because they were all exterminated. We were the only survivors. They took our sisters and mothers, but all the men were mercilessly killed."
"Hold on, hold on... What are you talking about? To begin with, what do you mean by 'the Twins were destroyed'?" Thoros asked.
After all, they were roughly in the middle of the Riverlands. There was no way for them to know about that yet, not without ravens carrying information. The rumors had not yet spread among the common folk, through taverns and towns, eventually reaching the Brotherhood...
"I'm saying the Twins no longer exist," another Frey replied with a mixture of anger and grief. "We watched those people arrive and wipe us out in only two days. They destroyed the Twins. They don't exist anymore..."
Thoros's companions exchanged glances.
"No... That can't be."
"You're saying the Twins no longer exist?"
"How can you say those two towers and a bridge don't exist anymore?"
One of the Freys spoke as if he were about to cry, though the hatred in his voice was unmistakable.
"That's exactly what we're saying. They used those green flames. They covered the towers, the bridge, everything. Everything went up in the air."
"When you say those people... are you talking about the Arcticans?" Thoros asked.
That was the first idea that came to mind. After all, there was only one people known for using green wildfire flames to destroy ships.
Even so, it seemed strange. The rumors said they were at sea. It was surprising to think they had simply appeared at the Twins, as those Freys were claiming. More than that, destroyed the Twins?
"We're telling the truth. We lost everything. They showed up with those weapons and that giant. They simply destroyed us."
"Our brother..." The man swallowed hard before continuing. "Black Walder had the idea of trying to break the peace banner agreement. I was there. That's when everything started happening."
The men listened in silence, allowing him to continue despite his difficulty...
"They spared nothing. They fired those weapons at the Twins. At the first tower, they destroyed part of it and managed to break in. We had to run to the other bridge. At the second one, they fired the same thing." He took a deep breath.
"And when we thought we could escape by fleeing to the other side of the river, a cavalry force was already waiting for us. How they crossed the river, it was magic—I swear I saw it!" The man lowered his head. "It was easy to capture us after that..."
"And when we thought they would simply kill us, they made us watch as they threw those wildfire barrels onto the Twins before making them evaporate before our eyes."
Thoros's men became somewhat uneasy at that.
"Bind them. We're taking them back to the camp," Thoros said.
The three men could do nothing else. They had already left their horses behind and were tied up before being led into the forest, surrounded by the group of men. The Brotherhood also made sure to take the wagon and the six horses as spoils.
Walder Frey remained in the wagon and was not even tied up, because the man's mind was simply broken. Whatever they had done to him, it showed just how terrible those Arcticans were to be able to destroy the mind of a man as spiteful as Lord Frey.
When they arrived at the camp, there was another group of men gathered there, but there was also someone seated among them.
It was a woman wearing a cloak. As soon as she saw the newcomers, she immediately stood up upon recognizing the symbol carved into the Freys' chests.
"Frey..." she said with difficulty at once, while the rest of the camp also rose to their feet in surprise.
"Hey, where did you get these beauties?" one of them mocked.
"They're not just beauties," replied one of the men escorting the Freys. "They're pure-blood Freys."
That made everyone study the prisoners more carefully.
"And not only that," another added. "Lord Frey himself is among them!"
He pointed at the old man being carried in the wagon as it emerged from the trees.
"That can't be."
"How is this possible?"
His companions could barely believe what they were seeing.
"If we tell you, you won't believe it."
His answer left the others even more surprised.
"Frey... Lord Frey..."
The choking voice began to sound.
Everyone immediately looked toward the woman approaching. The horrid-faced figure beneath the hood advanced toward the prisoners, seeming quite agitated.
"Lady Stoneheart. It seems we've managed to capture something quite interesting this time," Thoros replied.
The woman stared at the newly captured men with eyes full of murderous intent.
The Freys looked at her in horror.
"What... what is that thing?"
Even expecting to die, they couldn't help but point at her in fear. That did not look human.
Her face was grotesque, marked by deep cuts, and her throat was also mutilated. Her hoarse voice came out broken and uneven because of the horrific wound on her neck.
"I suppose we haven't introduced ourselves yet," Thoros said with a dark smile. "This is Lady Stoneheart."
He watched the horror on the Freys' faces before continuing.
"But you knew her by another name."
The men around them remained silent, observing the group's reaction.
"Lady Stark."
The Freys' eyes widened.
"The same woman whose body you desecrated even after she was dead. The same one you threw into the river for three days so the fish could devour her flesh."
Thoros still remembered the rumors of what they had done that night.
When they found Lady Stark's body, it no longer looked like a person. Then, through the power of the Lord of Light and the sacrifice of Beric Dondarrion's life—as if he had been resurrected all those previous times solely for this moment—she was brought back.
His smile widened.
"The Lord of Light brought her back."
The Freys retreated as far as their ropes allowed.
"That is no longer Lady Stark," Thoros continued. "She is a vengeful spirit."
His eyes returned to the Freys.
"And the people she most wants to kill are the Freys."
Thoros pointed at everyone in the camp.
"And we're helping her do it."
"Frey..." Lady Stoneheart spoke again. "Death..."
Her voice echoed, cutting through the conversation and making the tension even greater among the Freys, who were already trembling as they looked at the woman who seemed eager to kill them that very instant.
"We're going to kill them... Prepare the gallows," Thoros said immediately.
The Brotherhood's men immediately began preparing, grabbing ropes to hang them.
The five Freys tried to struggle, but it was already too late.
Walder Frey was the most apathetic of them all. He did nothing except remain seated in a corner. He could hear the voices, and his body occasionally trembled, but he was limited to that.
"Wait, wait, Thoros. Can you tell me exactly what's going on here?" one of the men who had not been present during the ambush spoke up. They still did not understand how Walder Frey, the great Lord of the Crossing and a greedy snake, had become that broken-minded thing with injured eyes.
They were members of the Brotherhood Without Banners, operating throughout the Riverlands since Lord Stark's death, trying to weaken the Lannisters.
Unfortunately, they were not in a position of great strength, but they still hunted Freys and Lannisters whenever they could, now following the vengeful intentions of Lady Stoneheart.
"You want to know how we managed to capture Walder Frey and other important Freys?"
Everyone moved closer. Lady Stoneheart watched in silence while they prepared the ropes for the hangings.
"How?" she dragged out the word in a grotesque voice.
Thoros sighed.
"The Arcticans have arrived in the Riverlands. According to these Freys, they simply wiped out the Twins and killed everyone in their path..."
The entire camp fell silent.
"The Crossing's fortress no longer exists. House Frey has completely lost its seat."
Thoros watched as Lady Stoneheart began to tremble.
She did not respond.
But it was obvious that name had affected her.
"It's a bit hard to believe," Thoros added. "But I can recognize when a man is telling the truth. Especially when he's more afraid of something than of death itself."
He looked at the prisoners.
"Whatever those Arcticans did to them, they left them in this state."
Thoros let out a dry laugh.
"Honestly, I'd even like to meet those people. Managing to leave the Freys like this... and destroy their fortress in only two days..." said one of the men who had come with Thoros.
Thoros shook his head.
"It seems this war wasn't over after all."
His expression grew more serious.
"And something far worse than anything the Seven Kingdoms are prepared to face has just arrived."
Lady Stoneheart remained silent.
Even so, her reaction to Thoros's words was visible.
He watched her for a few moments before sighing and then went to help his men.
Soon, all the Freys began having ropes placed around their necks.
Before being sent to their deaths, they stood there with the nooses around their throats while all thirty members of the Brotherhood Without Banners watched.
Even Walder Frey was placed on the gallows.
Then the old man would die there as well.
A bird watched everything from a branch a few yards away. Its eyes reflected every detail of the scene.
Perhaps that group would have been the fastest way for the Freys to learn what had happened to their seat.
Jon had even wanted some of them to reach King's Landing to report what had happened, just to see how his enemies would react, but he found this twist of fate quite intriguing after discovering the Brotherhood Without Banners and what Lady Stark had become. He had already been observing her for weeks.
She was a vengeful spirit through the power of that red god, executing the last remaining Lannisters and Freys.
It almost seemed poetic.
So Jon did not interfere. By controlling the animals around him, he could easily have used the horses and even the dogs the Brotherhood possessed to stop it.
But he let Lady Stoneheart do her work.
In truth, Jon was eager to meet her.
And that would not take long.
"Jon, what are you doing standing there?" Arya's voice pulled him from his thoughts.
Jon turned his attention back to her as they walked through the ancient fortress, now reduced to ruins, at Oldstones...
A group of bandits had been found using the place as a camp, but Jon and Arya had easily eliminated them with their bows.
Only the two of them were there, having traveled directly on Caraxes, who had carried them swiftly to the location without delay.
Now they were exploring the ruins simply to satisfy their own curiosity.
Meanwhile, in King's Landing, the news had finally arrived.
Even delayed thanks to Jon's interference. A council was immediately convened.
"So there is news of him?" In the Small Council chamber, Tywin Lannister's voice echoed directly toward Varys.
The Master of Whisperers nodded with a certain reluctance.
"It's true, Lord Hand. They landed at Seagard and began gathering forces against the Freys."
He repeated exactly what his little birds had informed him. What Varys did not know was that the information had been slightly altered.
"According to my little birds, they want to draw attention in order to force part of the army stationed in the capital to move to the Riverlands. Meanwhile, their true target is the Westerlands. They intend to attack with all their ships."
The entire room became more tense after that declaration.
"How is that possible? Shouldn't they be attacking the Iron Islands?" Cersei raised her voice from her seat.
It wasn't possible that Arctic had dealt with the Ironborn so quickly. If they were at war in the Iron Islands, there was no reason for them to be at Oldtown.
"Perhaps they split their forces..." Mace Tyrell replied from beside her.
"That makes sense."
Even Kevan had to agree after a brief pause.
Then Kevan Lannister continued.
"Perhaps this attack on the Twins was never meant to be a long-term campaign. They simply took advantage of the fact that the largest forces were at Riverrun. While drawing attention to the north, they pull Lannister forces away from the center of the Riverlands, closer to the Golden Tooth, where they could be sent west as reinforcements. If those forces move north, it will become much more difficult to aid the Westerlands..." He crossed his arms.
"It's an attempt to prevent reinforcements from protecting the West... This is terrible, Your Majesty!" Pycelle murmured.
"Then let the sworn lords handle it." Joffrey's voice rang through the hall.
He then turned toward the Grand Maester.
"Maester Pycelle, write immediately to all Mallister and Frey houses. Destroy any Arctican found under their banners. This is the king's order."
"As if those houses had the means to destroy them, Your Grace." Tyrion's voice carried clear mockery.
Joffrey immediately turned his gaze toward him.
"You have no idea what you're talking about!"
Tyrion looked at him as though he were facing a complete idiot.
"Calm yourselves. It isn't that simple."
Tywin's voice, the Hand's voice, made everyone turn their attention back to him.
The man seemed thoughtful.
"I have to agree with Tyrion. It isn't that simple. None of those houses currently possess enough strength to deal with the Arcticans. Not against their formations and weapons."
He paused.
"They wouldn't be able to defeat them in open battle."
Everyone seemed concerned by such information; after all, everything was a gamble.
"We still have more than one hundred and fifty thousand men stationed outside the city's walls. We can deal with them. They're only twenty thousand men, according to our information!" Cersei said confidently, as if she understood military matters better than anyone else there.
No one seemed to place much importance on her opinion.
"They're playing some sort of game. I can feel it."
The one who spoke was Lord Randyll Tarly.
Beside him sat Lord Redwyne.
As commander of the largest force allied to the Lannisters, Lord Tarly was one of the most influential men on that council regarding military affairs. Paxter Redwyne commanded the largest fleet in Westeros. And Mace Tyrell, besides being the future queen's father, was also the Lord Paramount of the Reach.
"What do you make of all this? You've known them even better than we have."
Tywin's voice turned toward a person who had been sitting silently.
The man gave a small smile.
"I've only just returned to Westeros. I didn't expect to find such a mess upon arriving, but those people should not be underestimated."
Oberyn Martell, who had arrived in King's Landing only two days earlier, smiled even wider.
He had come after reading messages from his brother, Doran Martell, while handling affairs in Essos. He had been summoned to represent House Martell at the royal wedding and called to serve on the Council, especially now that Myrcella had been sent to Dorne as a ward and future alliance piece.
The princess had already been in Dorne for several moons. Oberyn had simply arrived a little later.
Even so, he had not known that Arctic was attacking Westeros at that moment.
"That's all you have to say?" Cersei growled from behind her mask that concealed her face.
Oberyn turned his gaze toward her.
"Well, I imagine you know as much as I do."
He gave a smile full of meaning.
"After all, they're very good at making us believe we're the ones controlling the game... until, by the time we realize the truth, it's already too late."
Oberyn remembered very well.
When Jon arrived at Sunspear and was threatened, he had simply flipped the board by releasing a nest of snakes throughout Sunspear. When everyone believed they had control over Rhaenys through her pregnancy with Jaehaerys, she had been captured.
No one realized it until it was too late.
Oberyn had already warned his brother through letters about the Arcticans. Political games did not work against those people.
Not against the man who ruled them.
The Martells had already realized that no matter how much they tried to control the situation, in the end, they were the ones who came out losing.
And Cersei was mocking him?
Wasn't this the same woman who believed herself above everyone else in Winterfell?
Oberyn looked at Cersei.
She had tried to kill Arya Stark and ended up being left in that state by a mere girl. Oberyn held strong opinions about that girl—she was fierce and powerful, exactly his type. And she had become even more dangerous, to the point of permanently marking a queen of Westeros, forcing her to hide her ugliness behind a mask.
And why?
Because that woman was far too arrogant.
Silence filled the room.
The woman sought vengeance against the Starks. She killed Lord Stark. She mutilated that Stark girl who was still in the castle. And yet, that's all...
She had never truly managed to seek vengeance against the Arcticans.
She couldn't do anything else.
He observed those present.
'And the most curious thing is that everyone here believes they're in control.'
The Prince of Dorne let out a small internal laugh.
"In the end, I get the impression that the Arcticans are merely playing with all of you," he declared openly.
That irritated several people in the room.
'That king is simply playing.'
Not even the plans of Doran, his brother, seemed capable of keeping up with him.
Oberyn had already written him a letter suggesting that he reconsider certain positions. Even if that other player possessed dragons, the Arcticans could very well change the game.
Tywin Lannister listened to Oberyn's words in silence.
Then he turned his attention back to Varys. His tone was now much more concerned.
"Tell me something, Master of Whisperers..."
Everyone turned their eyes toward the Master of Whisperers.
"We haven't received letters from the Riverlands in more than a week."
Tywin narrowed his eyes.
"Have you received any messages from your little birds?"
Varys hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.
"No, Lord Hand."
His tone was unusually serious.
"I haven't received anything from them lately either."
His words echoed through the room.
And there was only one meaning behind that.
The same thing that had happened years ago.
The silence became even heavier.
That showed that this war was far more dangerous than they had imagined.
Without ravens, they were blind.
And if Jon truly could cut off raven communications...
What kind of war would this be?
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